Statement made by Mr. A.R. Ghanashyam, Joint Secretary(UNES),
Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India during the
session on “Institutional Framework for Sustainable
Development”, 2nd PrepCom of Rio+20
8 March 2010, New York
Mr. Chairman,
India would also like to join the list of Nations that have endorsed the views
expressed by Argentina in its capacity as the Chair of G 77.
Over the years, we have formalized any number of Covenants, Conventions,
Protocols and Agreements in the area of sustainable development. A number
of independent entities have also been set up to implement them. These
entities operate independent of one another and often from different capitals.
They also work in a compartmentalized manner but on overlapping mandates.
Naturally, this has resulted in a number of gaps, loss of synergy, duplication of
efforts and most importantly - inadequate implementation. The questions
framed by the secretariat to facilitate debate and discussion in this regard are
very useful. As is obvious, they overlap among themselves and the answers too
often straddle on several questions.
At the very outset, India would like to support selective clustering of
compatible conventions in specific domains. The cooperation between
different conventions dealing with hazardous wastes and chemicals, for
example, is a useful case for assessing and determining the direction such
efforts should take.
Secondly, we do not subscribe to the view that creating an overarching
umbrella entity dedicated exclusively to environmental governance would lead
to desired results. Instead, we believe that it would be useful for the Economic
and Social Council to take charge and promote greater coordination and
effectiveness in the ongoing activities of its functioning commissions and
programs.
Thirdly, in our view, the International institutional architecture seeking to
address global environmental challenges should remain firmly anchored in the
principles of equity and “common but differentiated responsibilities”
embodied in the Rio Declaration.
A key aspect that the Institutional Framework should address relates to the
support to the developing countries in terms of financial resources and
technology transfer. This is absolutely essential for the success of
environmental governance.
We believe that any consolidation and restructuring of global environmental
governance that enhances regulatory control and develops across-the-board
normative and prescriptive standards takes away the flexibility and safeguards
available to developing countries under different environmental conventions.
India supports a deeper science-policy interface in environmental governance.
We are conscious that organizations like UNEP have not been provided with
adequate resources to undertake the task of integrating environment with
social and economic development and building capacities in developing
countries. These issues must be urgently addressed.
We also hope that the ongoing discussions on Institutional Framework shall
take into account national priorities and culminate in a commonly agreed and
balanced approach to successfully tackle the global environmental challenges.
Thank You
***
